Case file · Haunting
Nero's ghost and Santa Maria del Popolo
Legend says demons in a walnut tree over Nero's tomb haunted the area north of Rome; in 1099 Pope Paschal II cut down the tree, after a dream, and built the chapel that became Santa Maria del Popolo.
1099 CE · 41.91, 12.48 · status: legend
The sceptical view
Nero's family tomb was on the Pincian slope, but the demon story is a foundation legend.